A Catholic priest who is listed as director of the Florham Park-based Vocationist Fathers Retreat and Conference Center has been charged with threatening to kill a fellow priest during a dispute over use of a vehicle.

Wearing his clerical collar and accompanied by defense lawyer Peter Gilbreth, the Rev. Frank P. Hreno, 50, appeared briefly on Tuesday before state Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto in Morristown for an early disposition conference on a charge of terroristic threats.

Authorities said that Hreno also had been accused by the Rev. Emeka Okwuosa, 37, of stabbing him in the arm with a metal staff adorned with a crucifix. Hreno contends that Okwuosa injured his arm by smashing it into a glass door, and an assault charge has not been filed against Hreno, Gilbreth said.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Tracy Dannis and Gilbreth agreed in court to continue exchanging discovery, and Hreno is due back in Superior Court on June 10.

According to a criminal complaint, Hreno was charged by Florham Park police on April 18 with threatening to kill Okwuosa that day. Their dispute revolved around the use of a vehicle, which Hreno leases but Okwuosa believes is community property. Police were summoned to the center through a 911 call, and a borough officer signed the complaint against Hreno, who was released on his own recognizance.

The mission of the Vocationist Fathers is to foster religious training and the vocation of priesthood. The 37-acre refuge on Brooklake Road is used for retreats, Christian-based picnics and conferences, and the fostering of spirituality, according to its website.

Gilbreth’s client has pleaded not guilty to the charge but voluntarily agreed to leave the center and live with his parents in Morris County while the charge is pending. Hreno and Okwuosa do not have a relationship other than that of being fellow priests, but they each sought temporary restraining orders against each other, as they can do under domestic violence laws because they cohabit at the same facility.

Judge James DeMarzo, sitting in Morristown, last week conducted a three-hour hearing on whether the temporary restraining orders should be made final but he declined to do so, Gilbreth said. But the judge urged the parties to live separately, Gilbreth said, adding that Hreno had an alternate place to live while Okwuosa did not.